Preserving can or container



Dec. 12, 1939. H. KARL PRESERVING CAN OR CONTAINER Filed Oct. 12, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 12, 1939.

H. KARL 2,182,872

PRESERVING CAN OR CONTAINER Filed Oct. 12, 1935 3 Sheets Sheet 2 Dec. 12, 1939. H. KARL PRESERVING CAN 0R CONTAINER Filed Oct. 12, 1935 3 Sheets-Shet 3 INVENTOR.

v the commonly known kinds.

standpoint they aresuperior to metal cans be- Patented Dec. 12-, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 10 Claims.

The improvements of this can or container refer chiefly to the shape thereof which permits the manufacture of them on a more economical scale than those of the commonly known shapes. Despite the difference in the shape of this kind of can there will not be impairment of the contents of the cans or containers and the handling of them as well as the packing, the transportation and storing will not create any difficulties but rather will be of advantage over From the sanitary cause no metalparticles will fall into the contents when the cans will be opened and no cuts will Ice-inflicted by the paper or cardboard when being cut through.

More particularly the cans or containers in question have no such tops that require a special separate part therefor and in this connection the cans or containers may be named top piece-less cans or containers. They are therefore generally made only of two parts namely the can body and the bottom.

The can may be made however of one single pieceand entirely of sheet metal or tin or of card-board or of paper alone, or it may be made in part of paper and cardboard and in part of sheet metal. The body may be made of paper or paper and card board or card board alone while the bottom may be made only of sheet metal and even the bottom may be partly of card board or paper or of a combination of both, and additions of sheet-metal may be included.

It is one of the main purposes to create as few joints in the cans or containers as possible because leaks in cans or containers can be traced chiefly to improperly fitting and closing joints, and it is therefore one of the purposes of the invention to make one end part of the. can without joints and to form that end so as to serve as the bottom part of the can.

The shapes of the can or container may vary also. They may be of a conical shape, of a pyramid or obelisk shape and others that will be pointed out subsequently. The section through the can body and the basemay be round or angular'and in the latter case a triangular, rec- ,tangular or quadratic shape of the horizontal section through the can body may be preferable for reasons of transportation of the filled-in cans or containers. Nearly all the proposed shapes may be easily and economically shipped because the empty can bodies without the bottoms may be inserted one in another and sent to the canner or to the distributor of other commodities, as, for instance, for milk, beer, soups etc. where they will be filled in in the proper way and the bottoms aflixed or only closed.

Nearly all kinds of these cans or containers may be constituted by two bodies, namely, an inner liner and the outer can or container body, which latter is chiefly created for giving the can its strength while the inner liner serves for the separation of the eatables or other contents of the can from the outer container body. In this respect the inner liner may be made greaseand oil-proof besides of being also air-water-moisture and steam-proof.

In the accompanying drawings in which various shapes of the can or container are exem- 15 Figure 4 shows a can in the form of an obelisk;

Figure 5 shows. a bullet shaped can and the scheme for changing the top.

Figure 6 shows acan similar to that of Figure 5 but with gradually diminishing diameter towards the top end thereof;

Figure '7 shows a can or container that has its uppermost point on the side of the can body instead of on the vertical center line of the can;

Figure 8 shows a can with rounded dome-like top and the scheme (sectional) for changing the top; J

Figure 9 shows a can with a flat top;

Figure 10 shows the scheme employable for making the bottoms of all of the so far shown shapes of cans by means of extensions such as flaps etc. but the scheme is designed also for creating "the top closure of the can of Figure 9 which has a flat top end.

- Figure 11 shows one of the schemes for adding the bottom and the top of the inner liner of the can of Figure 9 to the body portion of that inner liner.

Figure 12 shows a sectional view of the final closure of the can of Figure 9 and the position of the inner liner relative to the outer container body.

Figure 13 shows the methodof coating the flaps of the outer container body with a binder such as hot asphalt or glue etc.

Figure 14 shows in section how the uppermost point of the cans or containers might preferably be finished;

Figure 15 shows how a number of inner liners for conical cans are placed one inside another in order to save space for shipment of the inner liners as well as the outer container bodies which will be shipped in a similar manner;

Figure 16 shows the scheme of packing for transportation of the filled and closed conical cans.

Figures 17, 18, and 19 are sectional views of the bottom joint showing three different methods of closing the bottom when a special bottom part is employed, and in Figures 17. and 18 is also indicated how a sheet metal ring could be employed for surrounding the outer part of the joint.

Figures 20, 21 and 22 show some modifications of the shapes of flaps for making the bottoms, tops, respectively, of the outer container body, whereby a transparent closing piece, as for instance of glass, nitrocellulose or Cellophane etc.

might be used to permit the seeing of the contents.

Figure 23 shows schematically the seat for a conically shaped can or container that permits the filling of the can or container and the closing of it;

Figure 24 shows a beer barrel shaped can and Figure 25 shows one shaped like a pot.

Referring to the Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 which show the shapes that are most convenient for the can or container in question, these shapes. to which still more modifications may be added (see also Figures 24 and 25), permit the making of the can of one single piece or if desired of two pieces as far as the outer container body I, 2, 3, B, 5, 6, I, 8, 9, is concerned. These container bodies can be shaped on a form or mandrel of that respective shape. Although most of the shapes may be obtained when the can is made of sheet metal or tin, it is one of the aims to create a can that is made chiefly of less expensive material such as paper, card board or a combination thereof and a binding material of nominally low cost such as asphalt, tar, or some others that have linseed oil as an ingredient and to create also a special inner liner Ill that separates the contents of the can from the outer container body.

It will be noted from the drawings of Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 that the uppermost part of the can or container ends in a point and consequenty it is relatively simple to wind the paper or card-board or even sheet metal around or impress it on the form or mandrel. If paper is used for the outer coat then it does not need to be trimmed much if at all toward the upper point because the surplus paper will strengthen these parts that are some of the most exposed during transportation and in handling the can or container. The point l2, l3, I4, l5, l6, H, or I8 itself thus becomes very tight and completely closed. Additional packing, such as, asphalt, tar, etc. may be placed at the inner corner formed by the point and even additional pressure may be exerted on the outside for obtaining a complete strong closure.

The cans or containers outer body is then finished safe for the bottom thereof which, however, as already mentioned, may be made of one piece with the other part of the outer container body. It requires'only to choose a blank for the container that is longer than the actual height of the can whereby the surplus length will form the part for the bottom IS.

in Figure 10 it is'shown that this bottompart received incisions 2|] for facilitating the'spreading of the so obtained flaps l9a into a horizontal position in order that the unde side of each of the flaps might be easily coated with a suitable binder. In Figure 13 it is shown how the underside of the flaps of the bottom part 9 may be quickly and thoroughly coated especially with melted, that is, hot asphalt or dissolved asphalt. There is a pan 2| held over a flame 22 (or glow) in a convenient way and a certain quantity of asphalt 23 or tar or a certain glue in the pan 2| becomes fluent through the heat thus provided for. The can i with the spread out flaps l9a is then simply to be dipped into the pan whereby only the underside of the flaps will be covered with said binder.

This procedure, however, will take place only when the can is to be closed after the eatables or other commodity has been filled into the inner liner and prior to the insertion of the inner liner into the outer container body. It is understood that whenever sheet metal or tin is used for making the can the flaps would not be useful and instead of them a separate piece for forming the bottom (see also Figures 17, 18 and 19) that will be described subsequently, may be used to advantage although this special piece is not exclusively thought to be of metal alone. It might be of paper that is strengthened by cardboard.

While in Figure 10 the bottom part I8 is so formed as to serve for a flower pot shaped can or container it is evident, that a can with angular formation, such as shown in Figures 2, 3, 4, and eventually also in Figure 7, the baseor bottompart thereof would not need 'so many incisions as they are necessary in a circular can bottom that is shown in Fig. 10. An angular can or container needs only as many incisions in its bottom part as there are angles and these incisions must correspond in position with these angles, the corners that are made by them, respectively. The incisions on the bottom with a triangular shape would require to be broadened towards the exterior so that the flaps will not overlap over the border when they are placed in the can clo'sing position. The broadening of the incisions, however, is not necessary on bottoms that have a square or rectangular shape.

For avoiding irregular closure of the bottom it is advisable to bend in the flaps l9a in the sequence as enumerated here, first, the flaps 28, 29, 30, 3|, 32, 33, and then only the remainder of them as indicated by 34, 35, 36, 31, 38 and 39. It is obvious that still more flaps I311 or fewer may be made if it isfeasible.

The can or container mightconsist only of the outer container body it such commodity is to be enclosed, as, cocoa, cofiee etc. that does not need further precautionary means for the safe keeping thereof. In such instances it suffices to use only a sheet 40 of pure paper or a transparent sheet of nitro cellulose etc. as indicated in Figure 10 by the circular dotted line or in Figures 21 and 22 and upon this paper will be folded the flaps 28 to 39. It will be noted that the covering paper 40 is somewhat larger than the base part of the can. This has the advantage that, first, that cover 40 will stick with its border part to the binder on the flaps l9a which prevents it from displacement and further, at the turning in of the flaps 190. will form a fold that is directed in a somewhat similar manner as the inner liner I0 (the upper or top piece Hie) as shown in Figure 12.

- If the thickness of the outer container body wall I, 9, etc. constitutes a hindrance for the flaps I 9a to form a relatively even bottom (or top as in Figure 9) theflaps should then be cut in such manner that they will not lie on top of the next one and the shape of each flap would then be triangular or of a difl'erent shape which, however, will not be of the size that results by simply making straight cuts into the bottom part of the outer container body.

Some of the flaps proposed are'shown by the Figures 20, 21 and 22 and the designs created by the fiaps add to the attractiveness of the can that will be enhanced still more by adding colorful variations. It is obvious that'ln this respect an endless variety of designs in lace form or in other patterns may be created which, however, would be subject to special applications for protection.

Referring now to the inner liner l0, it is to emphasize that it will receive the general shape of the outer container body and in this respect will be shaped also on a mandrel or form. Only cans with flat top-ends might have a special piece besides that which forms the bottom of the inner liner. The mode of making the inner liner is illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12. It is not tobe confounded with the single bottom sheet shown in Figure 10 and it consists of such walls that will have the propriety of holding and preserving eatables for a long time. The means that accomplish this result are not described in the present specification but in other co-pending patent applications as, for instance in my copending patent application Serial- No. 758,955, filed December 24, 1934, or in the application simultaneously made with the present one, having the Serial No. 44,644, and the present description of the inner liner deals only with the method of its assemblage and of thesecuring of that inner liner to the outer container body.

Judging from the view of Figure 11 in which an inner liner is shown ready for assemblage the body blank Ilia has its upper and lower end borders llib, I00 respectively bent outwardly and on top.oi' the outwardly bent portion Nb and underneath the portion lllc is placed a suitable binder such as rubber cement or a lacquer that is water-oil-and grease-proof if it deals with cans that must hold preserves. It is obvious that the bottom "id is to be put on before the top llle is aflixed because the eatables. must be filled in first. The eatables however, may be filled in the inner liner after it has been inserted into the outer container body. The bottom lfld is simply to be laid on a fiat surface and the body blank [0a put on top so that the corresponding border "if of the bottom lld will be pasted to the part lllc by the mucilage under the border part llic. Pressure from above'upon that part liic insures the tightness of that joint. The inner liner Illa with bottom Md afilxed will then be filled or prior to that inserted in the outer container body 9. By inserting the inner liner to the outer container body the combined border I00, III! will be bent upward so that it will lie against the inner side of the wall 9 of the outer container body. This is of advantage because through the fold thus created the eatables will not come in contact with the binder situated between parts I00 and III. The bottom part of the outer container body will then be closed in the aforesaid manner as shown in Figure 12 whereby the special bottom piece 40 indicated in Figure 10 might or might not be employed.

With the inner liners of the cans or containers that do not require a special top piece only one extra piece (Hie) is needed for the closing of the can which requires a similar manipulation as exemplified in Figure 11. After the contents are filled in the inner liner of Figure 11 whereby the binder may be placed on the border part lllb prior to'the filling in of the eatables, the top part Hie is put on and the border Mg will be compressed together with the border part Nib. Through this manipulation the eatables are already enclosed in an air-water-steam-oiland grease-proof enclosure (if the method is employed as exemplified in my co-pending patent application Serial No. 758,955 that was filed on December 24, 1934, or that which forms a simultaneous application with the present one that has the Serial No. 44,644), and it remains only to add a bulkier and stronger outer container body for protecting the inner liner. With all the other cans shown in the drawings with the exception of those shown in Figures 24 and 25 the inner liners l0 thereof not requiring a special'top piece (see, for instance the inner liners shown in Figure 15) need only to be closed by afiixing the closure that is similar to that indicated by Hie in Figure 11. For filling in the'inner liners that form part of the cans shown in Figures 1 to 8 it will be necessary to employ a seat for them that permits the upside down placing of the single inner liner or the latter together with and therefore already in-' serted in the outer container body and this seat may serve at the same time for holding the can or container for its closing up. A primitive example of such seat is shown in Figure 23 and it is obvious that a difl'erent shape in the seat will be necessary if a. difierent shaped container is to be closed up.

For the transportation and the packing of the I filled in cans or containers the method is suggested as exemplified in Figure 16 in which some of the cans etc. stand on their closure while others are placed upside down each between two .of the former.

It. will be noted that after the closure Hie is put on and the completely closed inner liner is inserted into the outer container body and the latter will have its fiaps placed in can closing position the borders [0g and lb (see Figures 11 and 12) .will be folded and bent inwardly so that they will lie on the closure Hie. This is advantageous because through the fold created thereby the" eatables will not come into contact with the binder between the border sections lllb and My which binder will be still soft when the closure is put on.

There are, however other schemes employable for closing up the cans or containers and such are'shown by the Figures 17, 18 and 19. In these figuresit is shown that a special piece ll, l2, I3 is used for forming the closure.

While in Figure 18' it is contemplated to make the inner liner closure similar to that described already, and shown in Figure 12 there are-some other schemes employed in Figures 17 and 19, in which the border ends of the inner liner l0 and of the inner cover I on, llii, respectively, is

clamped between portions of the outer container special piece II. This structure has certain ad-v vantages because the special piece ll if made entirely or only in part of card-board tends to stretch itself and thus presses against the wall of the outer container body I and insures a tight joint. A binder, as, for instance, asphalt, or tar or glue may be used as the packing between the special piece 4| and the outer containerbody l and may also be inserted in the fold made by the special piece 4| prior to inserting the ends of the inner liner l0 and closure In. According to Figure 18 the special closure 42 is also wedged in between the end portion of the outer container body I but its border is simply bent down so that the latter may be compressed together with the edge part of the outer container body I for obtaining a tight joint after packing has been introduced between these two parts of the outer container body. r

In Figure 19 the scheme is somewhat different because it is the lowest edge part of the container body I that forms a hook 45 that holds the edge parts of the special piece 43 and of the inner liner l0 and its closure llli. Pressure exerted in the direction of the arrows and a suitable binder insure a tight and strong joint for both the outer container body and inner liner.

The special bottoms 4|, 42 and 43 may be made of sheet metal but it sufiices to make only a circular ring shaped sheet metal enclosure for the joint as indicated by the dotted lines 46, 41 shown in Figures l7, 18, respectively.

If cardboard-and paper is used for the outer container body a great variety of. still other shapes may be obtained for the can; there may be a beer barrel shaped can produced that might be attractive as a container or vessel for beer or a pot shaped can that would serve for holding baked beans or other eatables. These suggestions are illustrated in Figures 24 and 25, respectively. All the cans or containers having a pointed or rounded upper end may have this upper end pushed in, so that it will be possible to place that can or container so that it stands with its upper end on a horizontal surface.

- For accomplishing this it is simply necessary to use a core and to introduce it through the bottom so that it reaches only as far as to the point 5| in Figure 5 or Figure 8 and the remainder of the can above that point needs simply to be pushed down until the shape is obtained that is approximately shown by the dotted lines 52, 53, respectively, which indicate the section which the uppermost part of the can or container will assume, if the pressure is not too heavy. Other forms in section, however, may be obtained if the core has such curvatures or design on its top end, whereby that design will be impressed upon the can top through a relatively stronger pressure exerted upon it, whereby even the former uppermost point might be flattened out or its shape changed.

It is obvious that in such event the core mentioned must be introduced and withdrawn through the bottom'of the still empty outer container body. Asimilar procedure may be employed for the innerfliner if such is employed. For opening the can various methods are emplo'yable; the simplest" would be to cut the section near the point ofthe can etc. along the dotted line indicated by 54 in Fig. 1,'or it might be the top or bottom that can be cut through exposed to damage and secondly it serves as a reclosure or cover when the top point of the can or container proper is cut through along the line 54 (see Figure 1).

It is obvious that the special part 55, 56, 51, 58, 59 must fit on the can end to which it is intended and consequently must have the shape thereof and the angles which the can or container proper shows. That special part may be afiixed so that its removal prior to cutting through of the point of the can or container along the line 54 can be effected.

What I claim is:

1. In a preserving can or container having a body forming partly the exterior hull and made of sheet material and consisting of the can body and the top and part of the closure on the bottom made of a single blank that finishes the can body and said top, an inner liner, completely en-.

veloping the contents and being situated in said body, part of said liner forming part of said closure of the can or container, having its border part folded upon itself and being reinforced by said part of the closure on the bottom and the latter part sticking to said part of said liner.

2. In a preserving can or container having an outer body forming an exterior hull, made of sheet material and an inner liner, said inner liner formed by single pieces and these single pieces assembled and a binder holding these single pieces together, the parts provided with said binder folded so that an edge is formed that prevents the contents of the can to come in contact with said binder, said outer body having flaps, secured to one of the single pieces of said inner liner by means of a binder.

3. In a preserving'can or container having a body with an opening and extensions around that opening, a closing piece for said opening being larger in circumference than said opening and said closing piece sticking to a binder applied to said extensions and said extensions folded inwardly together with the part of. said closing piece that is in excess of the size of said opening thus folding the latter closing piece upon itself.

4. In a preserving can or container, a container body having an end that forms an opening, said container body, provided with non-overlapping flaps of relatively small size along the border of said opening; an inner body constituted by a liner and the latter having a covering part fitting in said opening, said flaps bent upon said covering part at the same time folding upon itself the border part of the latter and holding the latter with a binding material.

5. In apreserving can or container, a container body having an end that forms an opening,

said container body provided with flapsof attractive design and pattern along the border of said opening, a special closure piece for said opening, being of transparent material for permitting to see the contents of the can, said closure piece consisting ofv a very pliable material, having its border part folded upon itself and said flaps bent upon said closure piece and holding the latter with a binding material in an even plane and closing saidcan or container hermetically.

6. In preserving cans or containers each having an inner liner and an outer container body, the closure for both the liner and the container body formed at the base end, said liner including a special closure piece of very pliable material and having the border part thereof secured on the border part of said liner, the latter border v part being bent inwardly into the plane of said closure piece, thereby folding upon itself said border part of said special closure piece the structure of both the liner and the container body diminishing in circumference towards the uppermost end of the can permitting thereby both the liner and the container body to be shipped separately in large quantities when not filled in and the special closure pieces not being afiixed, by inserting one inner liner into another.

7. In a preserving can or container, a container body, one end thereof formed first into a point and the other end formed as a closure, the end formed as a point pushed inwardly of the can as far'as to create a base part for that end that permits the can or container to stand on that end without further aid when placed on a horizontal surface.

8. In a preserving can or container, a container body, one end thereof first formed into a rounded shape and the other end formed as a closure, the end formed into a rounded shape pushed inwardly of the can or container as far as to create a base part oi such size that permits the can or container to stand with that end on a horizontal surface without any other aid.

9. In a preserving can or container, a can or container body closed up on all sides for preserving the contents thereof, one end thereof being jointless made of one piece with the can or conserve as 9. recover after the opening of the can 20 or container.

HEINRICH KARI. 

